Heel plate assembly for a removable jaw wrench



Oct. 16, 1956 o. A. CAPRA HEEL PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR A REMOVABLE JAW WRENCH F'iled Nv. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

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INVENToR 'UrfAV/o A. CAMA Byj/ WM,

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ATTORNEY Oct. 16, 1956 o. A. CAPRA l 2,766,650

HEEL PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR A REMOVABLE JAW-WRENCH Filed Nov. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

INVENToR.

0TAv/0 A. CAP/2A A TTORNE Y United States Patent O HEEL PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR A REMOVABLE JAW WRENCH Ottavio A. Capra, Jamaica, N. Y.

Application November 5, 1954, Serial No. 467,050

3 Claims. (Cl. 81180) The present invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly to an improved means of anchoring a heel plate in a wrench handle assembly Without the use of riveting, pinning, staking, or similar operations. The heel plate comprises a tang integral with its body, extending downward from the bottom at a small angle with respect to the vertical axis. This tang acts as a cantilever spring when the heel plate is pressed into a handle assembly, the spring tension holding the heel plate rmly in place. The heel plate may be removed and replaced as many times vas desired without danger of coming loose.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of wrench manufacture in which provision is made for anchoring a heel plate in a wrench handle assembly without the use of special tools.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for fast, easy assembly and disassembly of a heel plate in a wrench handle assembly.

Another object of the invention consists in the elimination of end play or looseness in the above assembly, and of elimination of the need for close tolerance requirements in the parts to be joined.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are a side and rear elevation, respectively, of a pipe wrench, showing the heel plate assembly of the present invention in place;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the heel plate;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the handle assembly;

Fig. 5 represents, on a larger scale, a fragmentary crosssectional elevation taken on line 55 of Fig. 2, showing the nut, rocker and nut spring assembly with the hook jaw and loading spring removed;

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are a top, side and front view, respectively, of either of the rocker members shown in section in Fig. 5

Figs. l0, 11 and 12 are a top, side and front view, respectively, of the nut sprin y shown in section in Fig. 5;

Figs. 13 and 14 are fragmentary side elevations, showing certain modications of the lower jaw of the wrench; and

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but with the hook jaw and rocker assembly removed, showing a modication of the yoke member forming the support for said jaw and rocker assembly.

The principal parts of the pipe wrench 12 shown in the drawing are a hollow handle 13, supporting the heel plate 14, a yoke 15 containing the nu-t, rockers and spring assembly 16, and the upper or hook jaw 17 supported on the yoke 15 by means of the assembly 16. The assembly 16 comprises, in turn, an upper rocker member 1S, a lower rocker member 19, a nut 20 and a nut spring 21, these various elements coacting with one another and with the threaded shank 22 of hook jaw 17 in a manner presently to be described.

2,766,650 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 The heel plate 14 is integrally connected with tang 56 which extends downward from the bottom at a small angle with respect to the vertical, said tang being nartowed at its lower end. This narrow portion 56a is bent upwards and outwards to serve as a spring means. The heel plate 14 is so dimensioned that when it is inserted into the wrench handle 13, the narrowed spring means portion 56a will be bent towards tang 56 so as to fit easily into the top of the hollow handle 13. After insertion, the tang 56 acts as a cantilever spring which holds heel plate 14 firmly in place and prevents looseness without further staking, riveting, or pinning. The heel plate may be removed and replaced as many times as desired without danger of becoming loose.

The yoke 15 comprises a frame having two aligned circular cutouts 27, 28, the frame being preferably of oblong, rounded-oft cross section partly embracing handle portion 13a, as shown in Fig. 4. Frame member 15 forms a vertical channel 29 just wide enough to accommodate the shank 22 of hook jaw 17, this shank being preferably provided with opposite longitudinal tapered grooves 30, 31 to reduce weight and friction. Threads 32 on shank 22 are in engagement with threads 33 of nut 20, the latter projecting through the cutouts 2'7, 28 but being held clear of the frame 15 by means of rockers 18, 19 and spring 21. The two rockers being identical in construction, only one of them, the upper rocker 18, is shown in detail in Figs. 7, 8 and 9.

The rocker 18 comprises a circular base 34 forme/.i with a roughly rectangular cutout 35 whose width corresponds to that of channel 29 in yoke 15. The cutout 35 is bounded by two segmental ridges 36, 37 having a radius of curvature which equals the radius of circular cutouts 27, 28 in yoke 15. Ridges 36, 37 register respectively, with the side walls 38, 39 of the yoke 1S when the members 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 are opera-tively assembled, nut spring 21 serving to insure continuous vcontact between these lridges and adjacent portions of these side walls.

Referring to Figs. 10 and 11 and 12, it will be Seen that the spring 21, comprises a resilient annular member 40 formed with a cutout 41 which registers with cutout 35 in rocker 18 and the corresponding cutout in rocker 19, except for recesses 42 of small radius provided at each of the four corners of cutout 41. The purpose of these recesses is to provide clearance between the spring 21 and the corners of thread 32 so as to prevent any jamming action in the event of misalignments of the spring relative to the shank 22. Spring 21 is further provided with four depending tags 43 which resiliently engage the base 34a of lower rocker 19, as best seen in Fig. 5, whereby longitudinal displacement of the spring 21 sulicient to inter. fere with the movement of the threaded shank will be prevented. By bearing upon the nut 20, spring 21 also prevents spontaneous rotation of this nut whereby the wrench will be forced to retain a given setting.

From Fig. 1 it will be seen that the toothed portion 17a of hook jaw 17 extends at an angle greater than 90 relative to the shank 22, even as the toothed portion of heel plate 14 is inclined toward the horizontal in the opposite sense. This arrangement makes it possible to grip, for example, a pipe and a fitting or union connected thereto without intervening manipulation of the nut 20. In order to insure secure gripping of the work piece by the jaws 14, 17 in spite of their uncommonly wide angle of opening, a loading spring 44 bears upon the shank 22 above the pivoting center assembly 16, thus tending to rock the hook jaw 17 into closing position.

The spring 44 preferably consists of a resilient blade having a gooseneck portion at 45 which engages the rear wall 47 of yoke 15 from underneath, this wall being provided with a hole 43 into which enters a tag 49 formed at one extremity of spring 44. The other extremity 46 Rrrice exerts pressure upon the hook jaw 17. It will be seen that the loading spring 44 may be placed in position by simply introducing portion 46 thereof into the channel 38 from below, to the rear of rocker assembly 16, and inserting the tag 49 into the hole 48, no further anchorage as by riveting or other fastening methods being required.

The yoke 15 is preferably secured to handle portion 13a by spot welding. For this purpose, the walls 38, 39 of the frame forming the yoke may be provided with a plurality of projections 50 to insure good conductive and mechanical contact at the points where welding is to take place.

Fig. 13 illustrates a modification of the lower jaw or heel plate, indicated here at 114, designed to provide a better grip on stock of certain sizes. The teeth of this jaw 114 are arranged along a convex surface, the radius of curvature being selected so that pieces of stock S2 will be more effectively accommodated by positioning7 them adjacent the vertical shank of hook jaw 17, as illustrated.

A particularly improved accommodation of pipes and companion mate fittings especially for larger sizes may be obtained by designing the heel plate jaw in the manner shown at 214 in Fig. 14. Here the heel plate comprises a horizontal portion 214a which, therefore, extends at right angles to the axis of the handle 13, as well as an inclined front portion 21415 enclosing an angle of less than 90 with said axis. The latter angle may be substantially the same as that of heel plate 14, Figs. 1 and 5.

Fig. 15 illustrates a yoke member 115 which is a modication of yoke 15, Figs. 1, and 6, in that the sides thereof do not close around the handle portion 13a but remain spaced apart to provide a substantially U-shaped cross section. This enables the member 115 to be stamped and pierced, thereby greatly simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the cost of the entire wrench.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with particular reference to a single, now preferred embodiment, also shown in applicants prior U. S. Patent No. 2,555,395, it is to be distinctly understood that various modifications and adaptations are within reach of persons skilled in the art and may be carried out without departing from the disclosed function or exceeding the scope of the invention as defined in the objects and in the appended claims. i

I claim:

l. In a wrench: in combination, a handle having a hollow upper portion; a heel plate comprising a tang integral with the body of said heel plate and extending downward therefrom at a small angle with respect to the vertical axis, said tang being narrowed at its lower end, this narrow portion being bent upwards so as to be inclinable resiliently toward the thick portion of the tang when the tang is inserted into the hollow upper porion of said handle.

2. In a wrench: the combination of a handle having a hollow upper portion and a heel plate assembly removably fitted in said upper portion, said assembly cornprising a heel plate and a tang rigidly connected with the heel plate, the tang extending into the hollow handle portion at a small angle to the Vertical axis of the handle portion and being narrowed at its lower end, and the narrow tang end being bent upwardly and being resiliently movable in respect to the tang, the transverse dimension of the totally compressed tang and tang end being less than the transverse diameter of the hollow handle portion.

3. In a wrench: the combination of a handle having a hollow upper portion and a heel plate assembly removably fitted in said upper portion, said assembly comprising a heel plate and a tang rigidly connected with the heel plate, the tang extending into the hollow handle portion at a small angle to the vertical axis of the handle portion and being narrowed at its lower end, and the narrow tang end being bent upwardly and being resilently movable in respect to the tang, the transverse dimension of the totally relaxed tang and tang end being greater than the transverse diameter of the hollow handle portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,343,552 Earle June 15, 1920 1,469,792 Johnson Oct. 9, 1923 1,712,343 Gerhardt May 7, 1929 

